More than 200 members of the local media and marketing industry were given a special sneak peek Monday of the massive Swedish home furnishings retailer located at Sterling Lyon Parkway and Kenaston Boulevard.

“We have put so much passion and energy into this building that it’s time,” said Ikea Winnipeg store manager Stephen Bobko. “We’re ready to open the doors and unveil this great inspirational store to Winnipeg.”

‘Small city’

Bobko says the store, which he compares to a “small city,” is “99.9%” ready for the grand opening on Wednesday at 9 a.m. Twenty-thousand people are expected to enter Ikea’s doors throughout the day and Bobko thinks that rush will last for quite a while.

“I believe we’ll see that rush and capture it throughout December,” said Bobko. “Winnipeg has wanted Ikea for years and we urge Winnipeggers to come out and see what we created here.”

The store will have the largest warehouse in the country, which will allow Winnipeggers to be able to see the setups in store and take them home the same day, Bobko said.

The second floor of the store was an attractive part of the store Monday, something Bobko calls the “inspirational showroom,” where 55 showrooms and 15 kitchen settings are on display.

“We’ve done so much homework,” he said. “We went into 50-80 homes to better understand how to set up a home.”

Ikea Canada spokeswoman Madeleine Frick was on hand Monday and says the store will fit in well with Winnipeggers.

“It’s an incredibly emerging stylish city,” said Frick. “Ikea’s going to put everyone on their toes, competitors are going have to sharpen their pencils and at the end of the day, it’s the consumer who’s going to win.”

SWAGGER BACK

Just when you thought the word swagger was out of the Winnipeg vocabulary, Chuck Davidson, vice-president of policy at the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, says the opening of Ikea is bringing it back.

“Ikea really gives Winnipeg that swagger now that we’re a big-league city,” he said. “It gives us a lot of confidence.”

The Swedish home furnishings store opened Wednesday and checks in at 390,000 square feet — one of the largest in the country. Madeleine Frick, Ikea Canada spokeswoman, says it is not the largest store in Canada but it does have the largest warehouse.

This is the first expansion by Ikea into a new market in Canada since 1982 and will be its 13th store in Canada. New stores have opened in Ottawa and Richmond, B.C., in the last year, but those were expansions of previous Ikea stores.

The first Ikea store in Canada opened in Richmond in 1976 and has been an integral part of that community.

“I was online doing my shopping and my list, so I got a big list going,” said Lisa LaCoste, who has shopped at Ikea in Calgary and Minneapolis.

“I like the variety, the prices, just how the rooms are set up,” she added. “You get some great ideas for your own house.”

Winnipegger Kelly Penuita has also been counting down the days.

“They really have a good selection, which is good from a decorating and a staging standpoint,” she said. “It’s really easy to shop and find items that work with a lot of different decors.”

Those looking to camp out days in advance of the Ikea opening, however, are out of luck. Some 20,000 shoppers are expected to show up throughout the day but they won’t be allowed on the Ikea grounds until midnight Wednesday — nine hours before the store officially opens its doors.

“We don’t think it makes sense for people to camp out for days,” Frick said.

Some Winnipeggers say they’ll wait a few weeks and even months before stepping foot in the store, located at Kenaston Boulevard and Sterling Lyon Parkway.

“You got that rush on Nov. 28 and it will be like that at least for two, three weeks,” said David Mulko. “And then you have the Christmas and Boxing Day rush on top of that. It’s just too much hassle.”

WINNIPEG'S IKEA, BY THE NUMBERS

651 — Seats in Ikea’s restaurant

800 — Shopping carts

395,671 — Square footage of the building

1,619 — Parking spaces

40 — Cash lanes

15,000 — Balls in the children’s ballroom

55 — Room settings

15 — Kitchen settings

TIMELINE OF IKEA COMING TO WINNIPEG

1943

Ikea is founded. The name is made from founder Ingvar Kamprad’s initials, plus the first letters of Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd, the farm and vilage where he grew up.

1975

Canada’s first Ikea opens in Dartmouth, N.S. It eventually closes in 1988.

1999

Rumour spreads that Ikea is interested in Winnipeg. The rumour is shot down quickly, though, with a spokeswoman saying the company had no plans to expand in Canada.

2000

When asked whether Ikea will open in Winnipeg, a Calgary-based spokeswoman says,

“I can’t see it happening for 100 years.”

2001

Ikea sets up a booth at the Home Expressions Show. While saying the company had no plans to expand here, a spokeswoman says its 1-800-shop-by-phone is extremely popular with Winnipeggers.

2003

Ikea confirms it’s studying whether Winnipeg should fit into its expansion plans. The company previously said a population base of a million people would be needed here before it came, but a spokeswoman said that requirement could be relaxed.

Ikea opens a location in Minneapolis, becoming the store closest to Winnipeg.

Shindico Realty head Sandy Shindleman dismisses speculation Ikea could be built at Polo Park once the Winnipeg Arena is demolished, noting the site is too small for the retailer’s needs. Later in the year, though, he suggests the adjacent Canad Inns Stadium site might be big enough to pique Ikea’s interest.

2005

Ground breaks on Kenaston Common and, for the first time, the area is mentioned as a possible location for a future Ikea store. It just won’t be at Kenaston Common, though, with the developer saying Ikea’s store would be too big for his retail development.

Local psychic Elbera predicts, incorrectly, that Ikea will announce a move into the Winnipeg market in 2006.

2006

After it’s pointed out to her that her prediction about Ikea was incorrect, Elbera once again predicts the furniture giant will move to Winnipeg. “It’s still coming,” Elbera said in late December. “Now we’re looking at (within the next) 17 months.”

2007

Local property developer Sandy Shindleman says Winnipeg is on Ikea’s radar. Shindleman says Winnipeg is next or second-next for new stores coming to Canada — in Halifax and Winnipeg. An Ikea spokesman confirmed the chain has expansion plans for Canada, but Winnipeg is not in them. Meanwhile, U of M prof Robert Warren says he doubts Winnipeg will get an Ikea, saying, “I don’t think they’d come here in a million years.”

2008

In November, Ikea confirms it’s taking a “more serious look” at Winnipeg, noting it has a very specific site in mind for a potential store. Then-premier Gary Doer also confirms the government has talked with Ikea representatives. Warren remains unconvinced. “I’m not changing my opinion until I see a shovel in the ground,” he said.

On Dec. 16, the Winnipeg Sun exclusively reports Ikea has plans to build a store near the corner of Kenaston Boulevard and Sterling Lyon Parkway. The company confirms the story hours later, saying the store will be amongst the biggest in Canada. Elbera was only five months off in her semi-annual Ikea prediction this time around.

2009

In March, Mayor Sam Katz’s executive policy committee approves a rezoning and site plan for the Tuxedo Yards Development, as it was then known, following a 10-hour meeting.

Sod officially turns on the Seasons of Tuxedo — and its anchor Ikea store — on Nov. 20.

In December, a preliminary concept drawing of the Seasons of Tuxedo mega-retail development reveals while Ikea is the main tenant, three additional anchor stores, several smaller shops, and even a large ice-skating rink would be part of the 1.5-million square-foot site.

2012

In June, Ikea begins accepting job applications for the Winnipeg store, saying they need to hire about 300 people.

In September, the company announces the Winnipeg store finally has an official opening date: Nov. 28.

On Nov. 3, news starts to trickle out as to who some of Ikea’s neighbours will be at Seasons of Tuxedo. Lowe’s, Bouclair Home, and Cabela’s are some of the big names. Rumours of Winnipeg landing its first International House of Pancakes (IHOP), though, are shot down by the company.